A smoking gun in the Thomson vs Media saga?

In 2009 then Victorian ALP state secretary Stephen Newnham was one of the first people to start accusing Craig Thomson of alleged brothel creeping during his time at the Health Services Union.

After being forced to resign this senior Labor position in that same year, Newnham and former adviser to senior federal Coalition frontbenchers  Rick Brown later turn up as principals of a registered lobby group which had been contracted to provide political analysis (on the upcoming elections in Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia in 2010) to a newspaper in the News Ltd Group.

By 2012 both Newnham and Brown were writing articles critical of the Gillard Government for the Herald-Sun.

Does this set of interlocking relationships with Murdoch's minions go some way to explaining why large slabs of the meeja uncritically swallow whole Abbott & Co’s vitriol concerning this MP?
Might it also explain why the veracity of this 2011 2UE954 News Talk image of Thomson's alleged credit card details (showing a misspelled surname on the face of this card imprint) is not being questioned? A set of 1st-8th April 2005 documents which appear to have been eventually handed over to VIC or NSW Police by HSU officials as evidence of Thomson's alleged 'guilt', if the accompanying interview with Kathy Jackson is to be believed.

Hat tip to Peter Wicks for pointing out the discrepancy



In the transcript of a 1st August 2011 2UE Michael Smith interview with Thomson this section stands out:

Michael Smith: "The card was also used to pay for escort agency services.
I have a copy of one of the escort agency credit card vouchers. It’s the old style one, where you put the card on the plastic slider machine, put the carbon paper voucher on top of it and swipe the slider over the voucher.
The carbon paper makes a clear embossed impression of the card. You can plainly see that the credit card that was present on that night had this on the front of it – Craig Thomson, Health Services Union."

At best this is sloppy reporting. At worst the information in red bolding is a bald lie. Thompson is not Thomson, no matter how you spin it, and any reputable credit card agency would reject the slip in question - rightly worried about the possiblity of identity theft.

Will it be tears before bedtime for Australian Governments lured by SAIC's siren song?

SAIC Pty Ltd is a wholly owned subsidiary of Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) registered in Queensland since 1990 and located in Brisbane, Canberra and Melbourne. Ii appears to do business with the Commonwealth and state governments.

According to IT News For Business on 16 April 2012 SAIC has plans:

Science Applications International Corporation has revealed plans to create a regional cyber security research and development centre in Melbourne.

The R&D centre will create 50 jobs over the next three years, according to a statement by the Victorian State Government.

The jobs will be in the areas including high-end defence simulation and "related defence areas".

Specifically, the centre will research data mining and analysis systems, such as SIAC's enterprise search tool TeraText, and its subsidiary's deep packet inspection software, CloudShield……

SAIC has an existing office presence in Queensland and Victoria, and 41,000 employees worldwide.

Then there was this potted history of the corporation in The Washington Post on 22 April 2012:

Last week in these pages, The Post ran a profile of John Jumper, the straight arrow former Air Force general who was brought in as chief executive of local contracting giant SAIC in the wake of an embarrassing overbilling scandal involving bribery, kickbacks, foreign shell corporations and a safe deposit box stuffed with $850,000 in cash.

A year ago company officials were publicly denying that there were any problems at all with its contract to build a new timecard system for New York City, which by then was so late and so over budget that “CityTime” had become a frequent target for the New York tabloids and political embarrassment for Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

It was just last June that SAIC executives and directors first informed shareholders that there might be a little $2.5 million overbilling problem with the contract and that federal prosecutors had brought criminal charges against six employees of an SAIC subcontractor. Shareholders had to read deep into Note 9 of that quarterly report to learn that there might be “a reasonable possibility of additional exposure to loss that is not currently estimable” that “could have a material adverse impact” on the company’s finances.

It was just six months ago that SAIC got around to firing the three executives who were supposed to oversee the New York operations and letting shareholders know that the board of directors had formed a special committee and hired a couple of law firms to get to the bottom of things.

And it was a month ago that SAIC, acknowledging its responsibility in failing to detect a bribery and kickback conspiracy going on right under its corporate nose, agreed to repay the city $500 million of the $635 million it had received for the completed CityTime system. The settlement will allow SAIC to avoid criminal prosecution and the almost certain debarment from government contracting work that would follow.

Now with the appointment of a new chief executive, SAIC wants to assure everyone that the problems have been fixed and that the company has regained its “entrepreneurial spirit” and returned to its “core values.”……

This is what SAIC told the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Infrastructure and Communications in a submission on 19 February 2011:

Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) was founded in 1969 by Dr. J.Robert Beyster on the premise of attracting creative and pragmatic technical people to solve the world’s most difficult problems. Today it is a diversified technical company with business in energy, health, national security, environment, and critical infrastructure. SAIC’s 43,000 personnel are committed to meeting the needs of our customers and growing technology markets. The company is headquartered in McLean, Virginia, and we have business operations in Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory, and Queensland among other locations around the world.

Since the 1990s, SAIC has been involved in high-speed networking and high performance computing initiatives, and through our “spun out” subsidiaries (i.e., Network Solutions, Telcordia, ANXeBusiness, etc.) we participated in the growth of the Internet into its now critical place in global communication, economic, social and information infrastructure. As the Internet has grown, we have worked to develop applications that leverage these capabilities to help government improve service delivery (including eGovernment, education, etc.), and help critical infrastructure industries (energy, health, etc.) enhance their effectiveness. SAIC has also been a leader in the rapid development and integration of cybersecurity systems and components that have become required underpinning frameworks for the expansion of these large scale network architectures.

While this is what Pogo.org is telling the world on its Federal Contractor Misconduct Database:

SAIC

SAIC (Science Applications International Corporation) is a scientific, engineering and technology applications company. It works extensively with the U.S. Departments of Defense and Homeland Security, and the intelligence agencies. Founded by J. Robert Beyster, Ph.D., and a small group of scientists in 1969, SAIC and its subsidiaries now have approximately 41,000 employees worldwide.

Federal Contract $: $6861.6m

Total Number of Instances: 13

Total Misconduct dollar amount: $ 533.3m

Can Australian governments afford this corporation?

Peter Slipper Cabcharge Dockets. Is somebody having a lend of APN journalists?

Psst! Did you hear that a friend of a friend of a friend of my brother who lives somewhere in Queensland unlawfully used a Peter Slipper CabCharge docket?

That appears to be how ridiculous the media rumour mill is becoming.

The latest to come to my attention is this little gem up on multiple APN newspaper websites, including The Daily Examiner:

A former Sunshine Coast cabbie has revealed how he picked up a girl in Mooloolaba who paid for her fare using a blank Cabcharge docket from Mr Slipper's office. The transaction happened late on Saturday night on October 23, 2010.

The cabbie went on to say he thought it was "strange" at the time.

Strange is not the word for this story, because presumably a copy of the alleged Cabcharge docket would have had to eventually find its way to the Department of Finance and Deregulation and, this does not appear to have happened according to available records covering 1 January 2010 to 30 June 2011.

Not only did this not happen, but the Department has no record of any travel on 23 October 2010. Either by taxi using a Slipper Cabcharge docket which would have to be swiped with his card to be valid (see example below) or indeed by hire car or Commonwealth car.

So the question is: Why on earth didn’t any APN newspaper check with the official website - which posted Land transport travel records for Hon. Peter Slipper, Member for Fisher, for period 1 January 2010 – 30 June 2011 on 10 April 2012  - fourteen days before The Daily Examiner et al began spreading such nonsense?

Copy of a Slipper Cabcharge docket posted at Scribd

APN's Peter Chapman turns even nastier than usual on the Fraser Coast

Excerpt from the Fraser Coast Chronicle on 13 April 2012:

Which...

...high-profile candidate is so worried about Election Gossip that he has been digging for some dirt of his own?

This man has even gone so far as to make calls to certain people in Grafton, New South Wales, in a desperate attempt to find anything at all he thinks he could use as a shield.

If this candidate believes he can spare himself the scrutiny of the Chronicle, he had better think again.

Stay tuned...

...the Stealth Reporter hears all...

It doesn’t take a genius to see the visage of Fraser Coast Chronicle Editor, Peter Chapman, behind this ‘column’ which appears dedicated to anonymous and scurrilous gossip concerning mayoral and councillor candidates in the Fraser Coast Regional Council Election called for 28 April 2012.

The Clarence Valley would not tolerate the ugly side of Mr. Chapman’s editorship of Grafton’s The Daily Examiner and told him so early and often. He left the Valley after less than fifteen months at the newspaper and went north into Queensland – sped on his way by widespread community dislike of his divisive journalistic personality.

I suspect that the Fraser Coast is now paying the price for not following the Valley’s example.

* Graphic from The Fraser Coast Chronicle

It's only taken the Australian Securities and Investment Commission three years to dig a hole big enough to bury its head in

It’s only taken the Australian Securities and Investment Commission three years to dig a hole deep enough to bury its head in. The Age must be wondering why it bothered outlaying time and resources on investigative journalism.

The Age 31 October 2009:

BIPARTISANSHIP is rare in Canberra these days, but the Government and Opposition are as one on the scandal-racked Reserve Bank subsidiary Securency: they don't want to know about it. Since May, The Age has exposed a string of allegations about the way the company goes about the business of selling its banknote polymer to other nations, some of which are notoriously corrupt.

The Age 5 March 2012:

FEDERAL police have referred to the corporate watchdog evidence of possible illegality by senior Reserve Bank officials and business figures in connection with the nation's worst bribery scandal.

The referral to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission marks a significant shift in the investigation of the Reserve firms Securency and Note Printing Australia, which allegedly paid millions of dollars in kickbacks to win foreign banknote contracts.

For the first time in three years - and after last year charging 10 former senior banknote executives with paying bribes - authorities are examining the conduct of several Reserve-appointed directors of NPA and Securency between 1998 and 2009.

It is understood federal police have gathered significant documentary evidence and witness statements that point to improper corporate behaviour and have sought legal advice about the material before referring it to ASIC. Those whose conduct is under scrutiny over possible illegality include:

A former deputy governor of the Reserve and former chairman of the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority, Graeme Thompson, who chaired NPA and Securency and who allegedly approved highly irregular company behaviour that fuelled bribery.

An assistant governor at the Reserve, Frank Campbell, who as NPA director was privy to information about company corruption and bribery in 2007 which he and his board did not refer to the police.

The managing director of NPA, Chris Ogilvy, who also sat on Securency's board and who was party to highly irregular corporate behaviour, including the payment of secret commissions via inflated contracts.

A former Reserve assistant governor, Les Austin, who was a director of Securency and NPA.

If ASIC pursues civil or criminal charges against any of the directors, they could face jail sentences or heavy fines.

Company directors have a legal obligation to act honestly and diligently, and if their recklessness is found to have contributed to bribery or other improper conduct, they can be charged.

ABC News 12 March 2012:

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission says it will not launch an investigation into bribery allegations against two companies linked to the Reserve Bank.

Seven former employees of polymer banknote companies Securency International and Note Printing Australia (NPA), and the companies themselves, have been charged in relation to bribes allegedly paid to foreign officials to win note-printing contracts overseas.

Securency is 50 per cent owned by the RBA, while NPA is wholly owned by the RBA.

ASIC says it looked for evidence of possible breaches of the Corporations Act in material supplied by the Australian Federal Police.

"In line with its normal practice, ASIC has reviewed this material from the AFP for possible directors’ duty breaches of the Corporations Act and has decided not to proceed to a formal investigation," the regulator said in a statement.

Millions of dollars were alleged to have been paid in bribes to officials in Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam between 1999 and 2005 to secure contracts to produce bank notes for those nations.

A little NSW North Coast National Party history

It seems that the former Member for Clarence Steve Cansdell is not the only NSW North Coast National Party MP who fell afoul of the rules and lost his seat.

Here is mention of the former NSW Minister for Administrative Services and former member for Coffs Harbour, Matt Singleton, who was previously the Member for Clarence from February 1971 to August 1981.

That makes two out of the last four Nationals MPs representing Clarence coming to a sticky political end.

Hansard NSW Legislative Assembly 8 April 1998:  

Mr CARR: …… But I have done the National Party a great disservice, because the coalition had barely been elected to government and ICAC had not even begun its work on the north coast land deals when Matt Singleton was sacked overnight by Greiner. Matt Singleton had a great deal going. He was busily promoting to his Minister the rezoning of a nice little territory in his electorate. But he forgot to declare that he owned the property - a pretty big thing to overlook…

Hansard NSW Legislative Assembly 24 June 1992:  

Dr REFSHAUGE: …… The most grave of these omissions was that of the former Minister, Matt Singleton, whose failure to declare shareholdings in finance and property development companies was brought to light. The Deputy Premier also had failed to declare shareholdings in Matt Singleton's company, STR Finance. Mr Singleton not only failed to include shareholdings in a declaration to the Parliament; he completely ignored the former Premier's demand for a separate pecuniary interest file exclusive to him. Mr Singleton's indiscretion did not end there. He was found to be lobbying a ministerial colleague to have land rezoned for development. If the rezoning had occurred, Mr Singleton would have benefited substantially. It took Opposition pressure to have this disgraced Minister forced from office. This is the cleanskin Government. Matt Singleton, within a year of the Government coming to office, was forced to resign because he lacked the probity and the propriety to perform his ministerial responsibilities appropriately.

It's time to ask Australian butchers and supermarkets where they are sourcing the meat you buy

 

As the NSW abattoir currently in the news for alleged animal cruelty apparently slaughters for domestic consumption only, here is a brief outline for ethical consumers.

The Sydney Morning Herald 10 February 2012:

A SYDNEY abattoir has stopped slaughtering and faces closure and prosecution after hidden-camera footage of chilling animal cruelty emerged.

The NSW Food Authority ordered the immediate halt yesterday to slaughter at the Hawkesbury Valley Meat Processors at Wilberforce, in Sydney's west, after seeing undercover footage apparently taken by a worker at the abattoir.

''This is one of the worst cases I've seen in an abattoir of animal cruelty,'' said Peter Day, a spokesman for the authority. The footage, recorded over six days at the end of last month, shows workers mistreating sheep, cattle, pigs and goats….

The Telegraph 10 February 2012:

It is believed Hawkesbury Valley Meat Processors provided the footage to authorities after becoming aware animal rights activists had provided it to a media outlet.

Department of Primary Industries NSW Food Authority 9 February 2012 media release Slaughtering at Sydney abattoir stopped:  

Action by the NSW Food Authority today has led to the shut down of slaughtering at a Sydney abattoir. This follows the Authority examining disturbing video footage of acts of gross animal mistreatment.

The video shows the slaughter of sheep, cattle, goats and pigs that allegedly breaches the Food Regulation 2010 and the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1979.

Australian standards under the Food Regulation 2010 require that "animals are slaughtered in a way that prevents unnecessary injury, pain and suffering to them and causes them the least practical disturbance."

A full investigation of slaughter practices at the site is now underway, which involves the RSPCA.

Non compliance of food and animal welfare laws is taken extremely seriously.

The welfare of animals in NSW is protected under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act (POCTA) 1979 and the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Regulation which are overseen by the NSW Department of Primary Industries.

Under POCTA fines of up to $110,000 or two years imprisonment apply for acts of aggravated acts of cruelty to animals.

The NSW Food Authority regulates abattoirs in NSW.

All abattoirs operating in NSW are required to hold a licence and operate in accordance with the Food Regulation 2010. Abattoirs are required to comply with the NSW Standard for the Hygienic Production and Transportation of Meat and Meat Products for Human Consumption.

https://rirdc.infoservices.com.au/downloads/07-183

Extracted from ASIC's database at AEST 06:45:33 on 10/02/2012

 

Name	HAWKESBURY VALLEY MEAT PROCESSORS PTY LTD
ACN	119 318 295
ABN	53 119 318 295
Type	Australian Proprietary Company, Limited By Shares
Registration Date	19/04/2006
Next Review Date	19/04/2012
Status	Registered
Locality of Registered Office	Mona Vale NSW 2103
Jurisdiction	Australian Securities & Investments Commission

Directors of this company appear to include Glenn Langley and Ronald Winston Langley of R W Langley Wholesale Meat Pty Ltd

"There's a better way to help problem gamblers."

And any better way doesn't involve Fr. Chris Riley who admits to his charity receiving millions from the Australian clubs industry and that certainty means statements made by him on the subject as loaded down with pecuniary interest.
Last week CathNews reported:
"Father Chris Riley, the latest face in the clubs' campaign to block pokies reform, accepted $50,000 for a youth centre operated by his charity from Len Ainsworth, the founder of Australia's largest gaming machine company, Aristocrat Leisure, reports the Sydney Morning Herald.
Father Riley's charity, Youth Off The Streets, also appears to have a longstanding connection with the Ainsworths - Mr Ainsworth's daughter-in-law, Anna Ainsworth, has been on the board of the charity since 2002 and was its chairwoman from 2008 until early this year.
Like many charities, Youth Off The Streets also receives funding made available by clubs - $122,325 in 2011............
The Catholic Social Services Australia executive director, Paul O'Callaghan, said Father Riley's stance was disappointing given the evidence that showed counselling alone was not enough to deal with problem gambling.
According to The Australian, Youth Off the Streets has received more than $3.5 million, nearly a decade up to 2009, from hundreds of clubs in NSW.
"Youth Off the Streets and ClubsNSW have worked in partnership for nearly a decade," Fr Chris Riley reportedly wrote in a 2009 submission to a Productivity Commission's inquiry into gambling reforms."
A bad move from a man who is shamelessly trying to parley his dog collar into dollars.

Three days out from polling day and Gulaptis gets well and truly told

No-one's sitting on the fence in this DEX poll on 16th November 2011

About this time in the 2007 federal election campaign Nats candidate Chris Gulaptis was receiving similar negative feedback. Pause for thought?

One comments section under The Daily Examiner article Disgraced MP in candidate's adverts:

By MHSMOTHER from Maclean on 16/11/2011 at 5:21AM

What were you thinking Mr Gulaptis!

I nearly choked in my cornflakes when I saw Steve Cansdell spruiking Chris Gulaptis on television. This has left a bad taste in my mouth and I personally feel that Mr Gulaptis has done himself a great disservice going down this track in his campaign.

I, for one, will certainly be re-considering my vote, particularly taking into account the latest info coming out regarding Mr Gulaptis' past support for coal seam gas. This latest advertising campaign from Mr Cansdell, on top of the CSG evidence coming to light is definitely not good for Mr Gulaptis.

By Machiavelli from Armidale on 16/11/2011 at 6:38AM

The Notional Party backroom unelected political hacks are treating the Clarence electorate with their usual contempt by having a confessed crook on their political advertising.

But then, in other times at other places the Notional Party have often believed that they are above the law by using the local Notional Party MP to get out of parking & driving fines.

The Notional Party lapdog for the Barrier OFallacy LIberal government will represent the party's financial sponsors in Clarence to protect his pre-selection for the 2015 NSW election.

Independent MPs get things done for their electorates.

By willbewatching from Grafton on 16/11/2011 at 6:46AM

To get the person who caused tax dollars to be spent on the by-election to do an advert saying we cannot afford to have a rep in opposition is strange. To use him in an advert to get the people who think " steve is a good bloke" vote shows contempt for the intelligence of voters in Clarence. Certainly did not encourage me to vote Nats. In fact it had the opposite effect.

By Dreyfuss from Maclean on 16/11/2011 at 7:05AM

Cansdell broke the law, he lied and deceived for his own personal gain and now we have to waste our time and tax payer money to vote for another candidate. Asking for an endorsement from an ex member of parliament who is facing possible criminal charges and a jail sentence shows that Gulaptis defines himself as a self serving man with no principals and no moral compass, just like his predecessor and thinks that the voters in Clarence are idiots. If he is prepared to overlook his colleagues behaviour he obviously is prepared to make an exception for a mate and that is not what makes a good political representative.

By msmith24 from Ramornie on 16/11/2011 at 7:38AM

Mr Cansdell ,should have no place on Television, taking part in, advertising campaign's for the Nationals.He resigned in disgrace after making a false Stat Declaration. Which in all fairness makes his character rather shady ,untenable ,and just plain wrong to be doing these add's on tv.Mr Cansdell has lost all credibility in the eyes of most decent voters. Shame on him.

By EmmaB from Yamba on 16/11/2011 at 7:40AM

Anyone living in the Lower Clarence at the turn of the century would recall that the Nats and Gulaptis can't even spell ethics - much less act ethically when it goes against their political self-interest.

By Tellmeanything from Yamba on 16/11/2011 at 7:41AM

Has anyone asked Mr Gulaptis any hard questions yet? Is it true he stormed out of the area vowing never to return when he lost in his election bid in 2007? Is it true he left while still a Clarence Valley Councillor with 10 months still to serve, then being an absentee councillor? Is it true he has sought ALP pre-selection in the past? Would have thought these important questions to ask him to establish whether he is an political opportunist or someone who will work and lobby hard for the Clarence Electorate.

By Fedup from Junction Hill on 16/11/2011 at 7:54AM

I am at a loss as to who to vote for on Saturday. I voted National in the last election but can no longer offer that same support this time and the other parties have done little to eran my vote either. So a conumdrum I have.

By Dessyp from Grafton on 16/11/2011 at 8:03AM

willbewatching from Grafton on 16/11/2011 at 6:46AM said

To get the person who caused tax dollars to be spent on the by-election to do an advert saying we cannot afford to have a rep in opposition is strange. To use him in an advert to get the people who think " steve is a good bloke" vote shows contempt for the intelligence of voters in Clarence. Certainly did not encourage me to vote Nats. In fact it had the opposite effect.

same here, when i first heard labor was running a candidate against the "nats" i thought they'd be no chance!, I'm not so sure now.

By UrsulaTunks from Grafton on 16/11/2011 at 8:16AM

Does the National Party really hold the electorate in this much contempt? Do they really believe that we are that stupid and lacking in integrity that we would fall for this disgusting campaign strategy? It's been a long time since I've felt so insulted and so outraged. This is simply horrendous and unforgivable. The people in the Clarence Electorate deserve so much better. My integrity is NOT negotiable. The National Party is telling the people of the electorate that they believe that they will forgo their ethics in order to have a sitting member who is not in opposition. My vote is NOT for sale.

By swingingvoter from Palmers Channel on 16/11/2011 at 8:19AM

It is hard to imagine greater arrogance or greater contempt for our political system....just disgraceful. Shame on you Steve Cansdell for what you did. Shame on you Chris Gulaptis for what you are doing. I'm ashamed that I voted for Chris Gulaptis when he ran for the federal seat of Page.

By Tellmeanything from Yamba on 16/11/2011 at 9:25AM

Fedup from Junction Hill on 16/11/2011 at 7:54AM said

I am at a loss as to who to vote for on Saturday. I voted National in the last election but can no longer offer that same support this time and the other parties have done little to eran my vote either. So a conumdrum I have.

Know how you feel Fedup but at the end of the day we are voting for someone who will work hard, be accessable to the Electorate and have the best interests of the Clarence people at heart..not a Party.

By yambaman from Yamba on 16/11/2011 at 9:29AM

Now Mr Gulaptis, I love the ad with your son but Steve Cansdell is yesterdays man and should have been consigned to political history! Keep him on and you risk losing the unloseable, what he personally did was disgraceful. I'd suggest you change your advertising company and your advisers, both are completely out of touch with public opinion re Cansdell!

By Smally from Palmers Island on 16/11/2011 at 11:11AM

Chris Gulaptis has first experience not being in control of his electorate from Head office . The Legacy of Cansdell is bad enough without using him as a tombstone around the neck of Gulaptis . Ben Franklin should be on sidelene with Cansdell. Dumb & Dumber

By bertson from Yamba on 16/11/2011 at 11:45AM

Why would Gulaptis seek the endorsement of somebody who deliberately and wilfully broke the law? What integrity does Cansdell have left? He signed a statement which said
"A person who intentionally makes a false statement in a statutory declaration is guilty of an offence, the punishment for which is imprisonment for a term of four years."
Cansdell's illegal and immoral action caused this by-election in the first place. He is not to be trusted, and neither is his endorsement.

By zinger from Brooms Head on 16/11/2011 at 12:11PM

MHSMOTHER from Maclean on 16/11/2011 at 5:21AM said

What were you thinking Mr Gulaptis! I nearly choked in my cornflakes when I saw Steve Cansdell spruiking Chris Gulaptis on television. This has left a bad taste in my mouth and I personally feel that Mr Gulaptis has done himself a great disservice going down this track in his campaign. I, for one, will certainly be re-considering my vote, particularly taking into account the latest info coming out regarding Mr Gulaptis' past support for coal seam gas. This latest advertising campaign from Mr Cansdell, on top of the CSG evidence coming to light is definitely not good for Mr Gulaptis.

I think the whole of the Lower Clarence who once strongly supported Gulaptis would and should be thinking along the same lines as you. If he loses this unlosable(?) by election, he has only himself to blame.

By zinger from Brooms Head on 16/11/2011 at 12:22PM

Tellmeanything from Yamba on 16/11/2011 at 9:25AM said

Know how you feel Fedup but at the end of the day we are voting for someone who will work hard, be accessable to the Electorate and have the best interests of the Clarence people at heart..not a Party.

I agree. I can't vote Labour back in, and now I cannot vote Nats after this Cansdell/Gulattis/coal seam gas fiasco. It's not in me to vote Greens. What can I do Fedup? So, I'm going to vote for the man Peter Ellem. When he was the editor of DEX he was totally behind the Clarence Valley - and I'm sure he will continue to do so now.

By Tellmeanything from Yamba on 16/11/2011 at 3:19PM

Noticed Mr Gulaptis has his NATS website already under construction....now thats CONFIDENCE for yuh!!!

By thunda from Australia on 16/11/2011 at 3:20PM

Most pollies suffer from 'foot in mouth disease' and their egos won't allow them to see the bleeding obvious. On every paper there should be a box for a vote headed 'none of the above' so that those who cannot support those standing have a choice that makes their vote count as opposed to an informal vote that is merely put down to an error is casting the vote. This method would truly reflect voter preference.

By JohnHancocks from Maclean on 16/11/2011 at 3:36PM

No, I can’t vote National, of course not – in all conscience who can? Not in this electorate anyway. From the moment scandal broke the Nationals have done everything possible to downplay Cansdell’s actions: “mistake” “error of judgment” and no one in that party has been game to come out and say “Yes, our local member had to admit to a criminal act”. It’s as if not one of them can see that what Cansdell did was not just illegal but that he let us his constituents down, badly – people who position themselves as leaders in the community and who seek elected office have to present as squeaky clean and conduct themselves accordingly. So, seemingly Gulaptis as our prospective representative sees nothing wrong with Cansdell’s actions either? God help us, are we in for more of the same? Judging by the culture manifest among the local Nationals we have every reason to fear the worst, so what now? Dodgy land deals, cronyism, back handers...all the things we’ve witnessed elsewhere suddenly flourishing in the Clarence? Here we are afflicted with a party seemingly bereft of values pushing a candidate that frankly represents the scrapings of the electoral field. Thank you National Party....who the hell CAN I vote for out of this sorry lot? It won’t be your offering that’s for sure.

By UrsulaTunks from Grafton on 16/11/2011 at 4:23PM

It also concerns me that they're happy to 'ignore' the situation in relation to the false swearing of a Statutory Declaration. I think people are forgetting that if you are aware of a 'corrupt act' and fail to report that 'act' then you are also guilty of an offence under the Independent Commission Against Corruption Act 1988. If the police, or ICAC, are in fact conducting an investigation and they uncover 'other' corrupt acts then anyone else involved who's failed to report these acts will also be subjected to criminal charges. On the bright side though, those that do come forward with their knowledge of any alleged acts before they are brought to light by an investigation, will covered by the strengthened whistle blower provisions in that same Act. I wonder if this possibility is even relevant? I'm so glad I never worked for him.

By wade2460 from Grafton on 16/11/2011 at 8:56PM

I would be keeping the lowest profile ever if i had pending criminal charges... out of sight out of mind...not a high profile image !!! Chris seems to think he has it won.. I think the Nats have made a wrong choice .....

A now defunct Port Macquarie newspaper gets caught out in yet another conflict of interest

The Port Paper shutdown with suspicious alacrity once its connection to The National Party of Australia began to surface.

However, even the quoted paragraph below by The Poll Bludger  on 27 August 2011 and the earlier 
allegations of push polling do not explain why the newspaper’s owner/s folded their tent so quickly or why there appears to be deliberate obfuscation over the company name.

In other poll news, a fortnightly Port Macquarie-based publication called The Port Paper has published results from an automated phone poll conducted by ReachTEL in Rob Oakeshott’s electorate of Lyne showing support for Rob Oakeshott at just 14.8 per cent, against 55.3 per cent for the Coalition and 17 per cent for Labor. This has raised eyebrows on a number of counts. Firstly, the question on voting intention was the last of three put to respondents, after attitudinal questions on carbon tax and pokies reforms (both of which were strongly opposed), which is commonly recognised in the polling caper as the wrong way to get an accurate response. Secondly, the principals behind The Port Paper are very strongly associated with the Nationals. And thirdly, Bernard Keane in Crikey today relates that ReachTEL “proudly announced it was an associate member of Clubs Qld, which has this year been campaigning aggressively against the Andrew Wilkie-led poker machine reform push. The Port Paper story fails to disclose that.”

Perhaps that grave acronym ICAC being publicly coupled with a certain NSW O’Farrell Government Minister (who joined the Solar Bonus Scheme at the then optimum kilowatt hour pricing and whose own electorate abuts Port Macquarie) is what routed this supposedly independent publication - given an associate of the newspaper is also reportedly a policy adviser to this same minister.

The close proximity of yet another Nationals MP (whose electoral office is only approximately four street corners away from the newspaper office and who is a Facebook friend of The Port Paper editor and its website registration contact person aka ministerial policy advisor) probably didn’t smooth the feathers of the publishing company’s handful of unidentified shareholders either.

One has to wonder if they are also connected to the National Party in some manner, as The Port Paper paper often reads like those political campaign leaflets or MP newsletters not uncommonly found in NSW North Coast letter boxes.

At least one of the newspaper's advertisers (also quoted in a prominent anti-Oakeshott article) may possibly be one of these shareholders.